The present invention relates to a shower and tub surround, and more particularly to a molding process therefore.
Tub surrounds are positioned within a recess built around a bathtub or shower. The whole structure is inserted into the wall recess to form a completely waterproof surround. The fully enclosed waterproof structure is highly advantageous in that it prevents the escape of water into the wall cavity despite the shower spraying water onto the surrounding walls.
Typically, the tub and wall surrounds are molded as separate portions due to the relatively large size of each portion and the rather complex surface geometry of the tub and wall surrounds. The surround is commonly molded as a first wall surround portion, a second wall surround portion and a tub portion which are separately processed. After the mold operations, the likelihood for damage to the tub and shower surround is directly related to the number of portions in which it is molded. That is, each portion must separately transit all operations which increases the possibility for damage due to the individual components transiting the manufacturing process.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a tub and wall surround assembly and molding process therefor which facilitates manufacture without unnecessarily increasing the potential for damage during post molding operations.